Lizzie Alohikea

Lizzie Alohikea
Born
Elizabeth Kanamu

1880s
Hanalei, Hawaii, U.S.
DiedJuly 15, 1939
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
OccupationsSinger, composer

Elizabeth Kahau Alohikea (born 1880s[1] – July 15, 1939),[2] known professionally as Lizzie Alohikea, was an American singer and composer based in Hawaii. She was a vocalist with the Royal Hawaiian Band, and was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

Biography

Alohikea was born in Hanalei, the daughter of James Benjamin Kanamu and Luluhiwalani (Lulu) Lahela Kauaunui Kanamu.[3] As Lizzie Alohikea, a mezzo-soprano,[4] she sang with the Royal Hawaiian Band[5] for 23 years,[6] in concerts,[7][8] recordings, and radio broadcasts.[4][9] She was described as "a great big woman with a great big voice,"[10] and is said to have sung "Aloha Oe" and "Na Lei o Hawaii" over 10,000 times[11] by the time she retired from performing in 1937.[12][13] She was granted a monthly pension by the Honolulu pension board.[14]

Alohikea married fellow musician Alfred U. Alohikea.[15] They married in 1906, and she filed for divorce in 1921.[16] She was survived by two children when she died in 1939, probably in her fifties, in Honolulu.[2] She was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 2008.[17]

Compositions

References

  1. ↑ Elizabeth Kanamu's birth year varies in sources. 1881 is the year given in her obituary; her gravestone shows 1890 as her birth year. She was recorded as a 12-year-old in her parents' household in the 1900 United States census, with December 1887 given as her birthdate.
  2. 1 2 "Elizabeth Kahau Alohikea". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1939-07-17. p. 11. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ 1900 United States census, via Ancestry.
  4. 1 2 "Band Program is Announced". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1936-10-31. p. 17. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Garcia, Alma M. (2012-09-16). Contested Images: Women of Color in Popular Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 220. ISBN 979-8-216-22161-6.
  6. ↑ "'Aloha' Will Never Die, Says Hawaiian Soloist". The Daily Freeman. 1938-02-03. p. 9. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Hawaiian Band Concert Today". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1936-02-23. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Christmas Program by Band Sunday at the Kapiolani Park". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1934-12-22. p. 27. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Hawaiian Concert Featured Over Radio K.G.U. Tonight". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1925-08-18. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Crowningsburg-Amalu, Samuel (1969-03-02). "The Great Voices of an Earlier Honolulu". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Allen, Gwenfread (1937-08-31). "Sang 10,000 Aloha Oes; So Lizzie Alohikea Has Retired After 23 years". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Lizzie Alohikea". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1937-09-04. p. 24. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Hawaiian Band Concert Slated in Park Today". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1937-08-01. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Police Detective Granted Pension". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1937-08-31. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Alohikea First Citizen of Garden Island". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1933-03-11. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Divorce Suits Filed". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1921-08-19. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Dondoneau, Dave (2009-05-01). "Hall of Fame inductees lauded with Lei". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 78. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Andrade, Carlos (2008-01-01). Ha'ena: Through the Eyes of the Ancestors. University of Hawaii Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-8248-3119-6.
  19. ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1929. p. 929.
  20. ↑ "Radio Hula". Huapala: Hawaiian Music and Hula Archives. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  21. ↑ Library of Congress Copyright Office (1928). Catalogue of Title-entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, Under the Copyright Law. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1280.
  22. ↑ "Alekoki (Hawaiian Hula Song)" (1928 recording), Hawaiian Phonographic Recordings, Hawai'i State Archives.
  23. ↑ Stanton, Joseph (1997-01-01). A Hawai'i Anthology: A Collection of Works by Recipients of the Hawai'i Award for Literature, 1974-1996. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-0-8248-1977-4.
  24. ↑ Stiffler, Georgia (1935-11-16). "Poi-Paloaoa: Hawaiians at Hollywood". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 64. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
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